AGEING AND INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY: THE CASE OF MELCO IN CYPRUS

While demographic ageing is increasing rapidly, it is important to consider new approaches to support older people preserve a successful ageing and satisfy their social needs. This article is discussing the issue of demographic ageing in accordance with assistive technologies that could enable someone to maintain active ageing. A project, called MELCO (Mobile Elderly Living Community) was carried out among older Cypriots. Its purpose is to function as a safety net to vulnerable older people who are in a risk for falling into social isolation and assist them in order to maintain an active role in their social environment while at the same time is monitoring their position, the lack of any movement and falls

An Account of the Development of Social Insurance for Cyprus, 1878-2004; with particular reference to Older People

This thesis explores and analyses the evolution of social insurance in Cyprus from 1878-2004 and those factors that led to its development. In order to provide a comprehensive view the study begins with the arrival of the British in Cyprus in 1878 after 300 years of Ottoman occupation. This study includes an analysis of the labour movement which spearheaded the campaign for the introduction of social insurance. Both the labour movement and the British colonists are considered as significant players in the story of introducing social insurance in Cyprus. The labour movement acted as a source of pressure in its campaign for improved social welfare whilst the British created as many obstacles as possible against such a development. In addition, the study illustrates the social conditions of the general population but with particular emphasis on the older population, the group most affected by a lack of social insurance. This emphasis includes a detailed study and analysis of the role of elderly people and their movement in their campaign for improved pensions. The thesis is divided into five chronological periods with each having its own significance in the evolution of social insurance. The analysis in each chronological period illustrates the events and the outcomes of its introduction and the turbulent and dramatic course of its evolution as well as its significance in supporting workers and pensioners. The study is based on a documentary research method utilising various primary and secondary sources as well as oral history interviews with eight key persons in the area of social insurance, the labour movement and the older people’s movement. The study also makes use of the work of seven authors from different areas of expertise and at different points in time. The conclusions of the thesis indicate that social insurance in Cyprus was not a state ‘creation’ but, instead, the outcome of persistent campaigns from ordinary people struggling against the odds. Finally, the thesis concludes with the accession of Cyprus to the European Union (EU) in 2004 where any future developments in social policy will be shaped and regulated by the decisions and guidelines of the European Union

MISLEADING PERCEPTIONS WITH ETHNIC MINORITIES: THE CASE OF PONTIAC GREEKS IN CYPRUS

Immigration policy in Cyprus was largely formulated in the 1990s, with the intent to meet the labour shortages as a result of the growth in tourism. Consequently, a large number of Pontiacs (or Pontic-Greeks) of Greek origin from the Caucasus region migrated to the Republic of Cyprus. Today, the overall number of Pontiacs is estimated to be a total of about 20,000, out of which 10,000-12,000 are living in the Municipality of Paphos. This paper aims to highlight the importance of the use of social services by Pontic-Greeks as part of their integration into the local society. Ethnic Pontic-Greeks in Paphos were asked to describe their current living conditions and their relationships with the local society and the use of social services, such as community kindergartens, children after-school services, nursing homes, senior citizens centres, and social welfare agencies. Τhe analysis articulated an underuse or no use at all of social services by PonticGreeks, mainly because they are not aware of these services or they hesitate to use them because they do not feel comfortable with the dominant population group; an issue that is an impediment to their social integration

MISLEADING PERCEPTIONS WITH ETHNIC MINORITIES: THE CASE OF PONTIAC GREEKS IN CYPRUS

Immigration policy in Cyprus was largely formulated in the 1990s, with the intent to meet the labour shortages as a result of the growth in tourism. Consequently, a large number of Pontiacs (or Pontic-Greeks) of Greek origin from the Caucasus region migrated to the Republic of Cyprus. Today, the overall number of Pontiacs is estimated to be a total of about 20,000, out of which 10,000-12,000 are living in the Municipality of Paphos. This paper aims to highlight the importance of the use of social services by Pontic-Greeks as part of their integration into the local society. Ethnic Pontic-Greeks in Paphos were asked to describe their current living conditions and their relationships with the local society and the use of social services, such as community kindergartens, children after-school services, nursing homes, senior citizens centres, and social welfare agencies. Τhe analysis articulated an underuse or no use at all of social services by PonticGreeks, mainly because they are not aware of these services or they hesitate to use them because they do not feel comfortable with the dominant population group; an issue that is an impediment to their social integration

‘Educating for peace’: conflict, division and social work education in Cyprus

Social work practice and training in the context of political and ethnic conflict has seen renewed interest among scholars. Recent research has tried to shift focus away from simplistic interpretations of social work as an unshakably ‘benevolent’ profession. A recent emphasis on social work’s colonial legacies and the structural causes of political violence provide us with important new directions on how to rethink and reshape social work education and practice in these contexts. Cyprus presents a very interesting, yet under-explored, case study as it remains an island de facto divided, along ethnic lines. The division has resulted in the physical and political separation of the two most populous ethnic communities (Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots). United Nations (UN)-sponsored peace talks have gained momentum in recent years. This paper offers the first systematic exploration of the views of social work students across both sides of the divide. Through a mixed-method approach, students were able to express their thoughts and beliefs on ‘the other’ and on social work in the post-conflict realities. The study confirms the contradictory nature of social work education in Cyprus challenges the futility of nationalism and argues for the importance of bi-communal social work partnerships

Digenic inheritance and genetic modifiers

Digenic inheritance (DI) concerns pathologies with the simplest form of multigenic etiology, implicating more than 1 gene (and perhaps the environment). True DI is when biallelic or even triallelic mutations in 2 distinct genes, in cis or in trans, are necessary and sufficient to cause pathology with a defined diagnosis. In true DI, a heterozygous mutation in each of 2 genes alone is not associated with a recognizable phenotype. Well-documented diseases with true DI are so far rare and follow non-Mendelian inheritance. DI is also encountered when by serendipity, pathogenic mutations responsible for 2 distinct disease entities are co-inherited, leading to a mixed phenotype. Also, we can consider many true monogenic Mendelian conditions, which show impressively broad spectrum of phenotypes due to pseudo-DI, as a result of co-inheriting genetic modifiers (GMs). I am herewith reviewing examples of GM and embark on presenting some recent notable examples of true DI, with wider discussion of the literature. Undeniably, the advent of high throughput sequencing is bound to unravel more patients suffering with true DI conditions and elucidate many important GM, thus impacting precision medicine. - 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons LtdCyprus Research Promotion Foundation (co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus), Grant/Award number: NEW INFRASTRUCTURE/STRATEGIC/0308/24 ; Republic of Cyprus; European Regional Development Fund. The work of Prof Deltas presented here was partly supported by the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation through the grant NEW INFRASTRUCTURE/STRATEGIC/0308/24 (co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus).Scopu

Secrecy and absence in the residue of covert drone strikes

AbstractBy focusing on the materials and practices that prosecute drone warfare, critical scholarship has emphasised the internal state rationalisation of this violence, while positioning secrecy and absence as barriers to research. This neglects the public existence of covert U.S. drone strikes through the rumours and debris they leave behind, and the consequences for legitimisation. This article argues that by signifying the possible use of covertness, the public residue of unseen strikes materialises spaces of suspected secrecy. This secrecy frames seemingly arbitrary traces of violence as significant in having not been secreted by the state, and similarly highlights the absence in these spaces of clear markers of particular people and objects, including casualties. Drawing on colonial historiography, the article conceptualises this dynamic as producing implicit significations or intimations, unverifiable ideas from absences, which can undermine rationalisations of drone violence. The article examines the political consequences of these allusions through an historical affiliation with lynching practice. In both cases, traces of unseen violence represent the practice as distanced and confounding, prompting a focus on the struggle to comprehend. Intimations from spaces of residue position strikes as too ephemeral and materially insubstantial to understand. Unlike the operating procedures of drone warfare, then, these traces do not dehumanise targets. Rather, they narrow witnesses' ethical orientation towards these events and casualties, by prompting concern with intangibility rather than the infliction of violence itself. A political response to covert strikes must go beyond 'filling in' absences and address how absence gains meaning in implicit, inconspicuous ways

Resource Warfare, Pacification and the Spectacle of ‘Green’ Development: Logics of Violence in Engineering Extraction in Southern Madagascar

Bringing political ecology's concern with the critical politics of nature and resource violence into dialogue with key debates in political geography, critical security studies and research on the geographies and phenomenology of violence and warfare, this paper explores strategies ‘from above’ in relation to the establishment and operation of the Rio Tinto QIT-Madagascar Minerals (QMM) ilmenite mine in southeast Madagascar. While QMM claims to be a responsible ‘green’ self-regulator and sustainable development actor, it has triggered serious social, environmental and legal conflicts since its inception, including allegations of a ‘double land grab’ to accommodate mining activities and compensatory biodiversity offsetting. We argue that ‘pacification’, theorised as a productive form of violence that works through the re-ordering of socio-nature, underwrites the forms of ‘security’, ‘stability’ and even ‘sustainability’ that facilitate multiple and overlapping strategies of value extraction in the territorial and extra-territorial spaces occupied by the QMM mine partnership. By situating these dynamics historically, we identify ways in which pacification draws upon sedimented and evolving logics of racialised violence to facilitate operations and silence opposition

Stay Home—The Impact of Social Distancing in Families during COVID-19 Lockdown: The Case of Cyprus

Everyone has experiences that make them feel upset, disappointed, or fatigued. When these types of feelings are combined with certain life events or situations, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, they often lead to mounting tension and stress. A crisis is a disruption or breakdown in a person’s or a family’s normal or usual pattern of functioning. The aims and objectives of this study are to explore how lockdown and social distancing had an impact on family relations in Cyprus and to what extent affected stress level of participants. By examining the impact of social distancing among adults 18 and older (N = 160), valuable conclusions were extracted. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to strengthen the idea of using alternative approaches in social preventions and/or interventions in crisis in order to deal with stress. The study argues that the disruption of usual patterns of functioning, in addition to other psychosocial and economic factors, diminishes the quality of life, resulting in tension and stress in a family environment. On the other hand, findings from the current study indicate an enhancement of relationships in challenging times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic

The Power of Arts in Old Age: Implications for Social Workers

This article attempts to bridge various forms of arts and social work interventions through an exploration of how arts can fit within the social work context and have a positive impact on clients’ lives. The focus of the article is on the older adults, a population group that is considered as a vulnerable, from the social and health perspectives. The objective of the study was to examine whether arts have a positive impact on older adults or not. By examining the impact of various kinds of arts on the quality of life of older adults, this article aims to strengthen the idea of using alternative approaches in social work interventions with older adults. It also suggests the idea of introducing social work courses within the curriculum that combine social work and arts. Through a pen-and-paper, closed-ended questionnaire, 179 Greek Cypriots over the age of 65 were surveyed in order to measure the power that participation in art activities may have on their lives